Users generally interact with computing devices through graphical user interfaces, which can display relevant content to users in a user-friendly, graphical manner. A graphical user interface is bounded by aspects of the computing device on which it is presented. For example, a graphical user interface can be limited to a virtual window or other bounding space provided for a software application underlying the graphical user interface.
In some instances, the size of the space provided to a graphical user interface restricts the amount of content that can be presented to a user. To handle these instances, software applications may limit the amount of content displayed to the user in a graphical user interface to an amount that can be squeezed into an expected size of available space. Alternatively, some software applications include scroll bars, so that the user can scroll between portions of the graphical user interface when the entire graphical user interface does not fit into the available space. Unfortunately, these partial solutions to unpredictable or changing available space do not enable the user to control what is displayed and do not adequately take advantage of available space when that space is relatively large.
Therefore, there is a need for a graphical user interface that can effectively adapt to the space provided for displaying content. In an exemplary embodiment, such a graphical user interface can make all contents available, even when the space provided is relatively small, by allowing a user to easily switch between available contents. It would be further desirable, when that available space increases, for a graphical user interface to expand and provide dedicated display areas for content that would not have dedicated space if the total available space were relatively small. It is to embodiments of such graphical user interfaces that various embodiments of the present invention are directed.